On April 19, 2011 The University of Kansas Hospital recently held its first orientation session for area teachers participating in the A Change of Heart® teacher pilot program. A Change of Heart® is a program created by women, for women, to raise awareness about women’s heart disease.
The partnership began in 2010 when the hospital joined with KCPT to inform the greater Kansas City viewing area about heart disease via A Change of Heart®.
In December, KCPT held a live pledge drive featuring a heart health awareness program by national speaker Dr. Lori Mosca, The Three Keys to Heart Health. Hospital nursing staff answered phones and discussed heart health with callers, and Dr. Ashley Simmons, A Change of Heart® medical director, was interviewed.
Following the pledge drive, the hospital and KCPT chose to partner together to provide assessments for 40 area teachers, inspiring them to take a look at their own heart health. We hope to educate the greater Kansas City area through this outreach effort.
Each teacher who attended the orientation will have an individual 90-minute heart health assessment. It will check their risk factors and include a one-on-one meeting with a hospital cardiac nurse practitioner.
The program culminates when these teachers head back to their schools in the fall, passing along stories of their own assessment and educational experience, and developing an interactive lesson to inspire their students to live heart-healthy lives.
Additional teacher participants may sign up for the program by calling Ally Bittner, The University of Kansas Hospital, at (913) 945-5248.
For more information go to www.achangeofheartkc.org
Julie Amor presents Change of Heart program
Julie Amor speaks to area teachers
Teachers read through the program details
Heart Healthy Mediterranean Food provided by Cafe Cedar in Parkville, Owner and Chef Jehad Selah
